Xanthus
Site Admin
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:22 pm Posts: 49
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![](./images/icons/smile/alert.gif) Damage system reboot AND FIXES!!!
Lightning has just struck my brain.
I had been working long and hard on trying to muddle together a damage system that would allow for believable descriptive injury and wounding with a basis in numerical damage and resistances which would then alter the descriptions and effects thereof. This needed to allow for the wounds to reflect the nature and severity of the attack as well as allow for systems involving healing, penalties from injuries as well as medical aid, armor, defense, etc etc...
Simply put - I was doing it wrong. Not just wrong, backwards. BASS-ackwards.
Flip this thing around. Now, damage will be described FIRST with numbers then altering that description.
Instead of numeric damage with effects tacked on, we will now describe damage by the following categories: Inconsequential - Minor - Moderate - Serious - Critical - Mortal - Unsurvivable
There will also be a level technically above Unsurvivable reserved for things like complete dismemberment or other types of bodily annihilation.
Modifiers to these wound types will include other fun descriptive terms like "Penetrating!", or possibly, "Bleeding" and the wounds themselves will carry descriptions of how and where you've been injured. So, if you take a moderate wound from a pistol, you and your play group (probably mostly your GM) will just throw a few descriptors on there, like a "Moderate bullet wound to the torso", or a "Penetrating bullet wound to the upper thigh" or however you decide to represent what has just happened to your character.
I will update the rules and systems to reflect these changes and include clarification on how this will all fit together and be arbitrated, of course. For now, I will simply post some short descriptions of the intention behind each wound level:
Inconsequential: Wounds that...well...aren't. Any sort of injury reduced to a level that it doesn't have a significant impact on the character either by the failure of the attack, the success of the defender, or the inefficiency of the weapon. A good example of an inconsequential amount of damage would be the effect of the average slap to the face. Inconsequential wounds should still be NOTED as they did HIT the character and were probably painful to an extent...but only momentarily.
Minor: Minor wounds are the lowest level of wound that consists of some sort of lasting damage. Minor cuts, abrasions, contusions and sprains fall into this category. Nothing in the minor category should be threatening to life or consciousness, however given a HUGE amount of these wounds, that MIGHT be possible. Minor wounds will usually, at worst, cause small penalties to action based on pain or impair senses (blood in your eyes).
Moderate: Moderate wounds in where things begin to become dangerous. A small amount of moderate wounds could cause a serious threat to consciousness and these wounds will cause a significant amount of impairment through pain and damage to the body. Moderate wound may include minor lacerations, shallow or otherwise non-life-threatening puncture-wounds, grazing bullet strike and other such wounds. Moderate wounds could possibly cause bleeding of a notable amount.
Serious: Serious wounds will often endanger the victim's consciousness, and more than a couple will put the receiver in possible danger of death or serious complications. Serious wounds will often bleed, sometimes to dangerous amounts. The amount of pain and impairment from these wounds should be fairly serious as well. Serious wounds will often require medical attention for proper healing, though it is possible one could live through them without such.
Critical: Critical wounds require fairly prompt medical care to survive and extended medical care for healing from properly. The amount of bleeding and trauma from these wounds will generally be fairly extensive and pain and physical impairment will be extreme. Consciousness will be threatened through pain, damage to the nervous system or shock. Lasting physical effects are possible.
Mortal: Mortal wounds will quickly cause death unless immediate medical care is administered by a trained professional. Bleeding, trauma, shock and crippling impairment will be evident and extreme. Consciousness WILL be lost in a short amount of time at best, and loss of life shortly following. Lasting physical effects are likely.
Unsurvivable: Unsurvivable wounds consist of extreme damage to vital organ system or extensive bodily damage which will usually be coupled with critical levels of bleeding. Death will be either instant or just shy of it. High-tech medical care delivered by trained professionals immediately MAY save the victim. Lasting physical effects will be extensive if these wounds are survived but are, at the moment, the least of your worries.
Conditions Bleeding Concussed Deafened Blinded Punctured Crippled Broken
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